When the up-and-coming band Lifehouse stopped at UR last weekend, they sat down for an interview and spoke of their beginnings and took time out of their schedule to sit down and talk about their musical influences, being on the road and the overwhelming success of their current album.
From the time Jason Wade picked up the guitar when he was 12, he knew he was on a path to success. It did not take him long to start collaborating with Sergio Andrade, a bass guitarist and neighbor, in order to get a band started.
Before they knew it, the two were holding weekly jam sessions in the garage, and putting lyrics to their acoustic music. Today, these two and drummer Nick Woolstenhulme make up the young breakthrough band, Lifehouse.
In the early years, the band started getting their name out there by performing shows at local elementary schools in the neighborhood and in local bars, but it was not long before the band got discovered, signed a record deal and began touring with Pearl Jam ? all of this while the members were still at the young age of 18.
Even choosing the name of the band turned out to be a chore in itself. ?It was a collective effort,? Wade said. ?We had a hard time clearing the band name, but Lifehouse was a name we all liked, and was easily cleared.?
Even before they were added to the Pearl Jam tour, Lifehouse was constantly being compared to Pearl Jam, a comparison that is a compliment none the less. ?My vocal tone is low and leads to the comparison to Eddie Vedder, but people always compare you to an already established band if you are new in order to figure out if they like you or not,? Wade said.
Playing for Pearl Jam was the first time Lifehouse had been on the road. Touring was a new experience for the band, and an experience that they embraced with open arms. This first tour was an eye-opener into the music business.
During the tour, the band would play on a smaller stage, rather than the main stage, but they put forth a solid performance and earned a reputation for Continued from Page 10
being a great live band.
After the Pearl Jam tour, it was not long before Lifehouse?s respectable reputation spread throughout the music industry. Soon Matchbox 20 and Everclear jumped at the opportunity to have Lifehouse open for them.
The Matchbox 20 tour was an arena tour where the band had the opportunity to play at large venues such as Madison Square Garden, and to play with a well-known band that inspired their music.
Wade was quick to point out that touring with Matchbox 20 was the band?s ?biggest step forward,? which helped lead to the band?s breakthrough moment of headlining their own tour.
Commenting on the experience of headlining a tour for the first time, Wade said, ?When you?re not headlining, it feels like you are borrowing other people?s fans, but now you have fans that are there to see you. They know your songs, more than just that one song.?
?Headlining your own tour lets you see what we, as a band, are capable of. Sometimes you will see bands that can sell records but can?t play live,? Wade continued.
Now that the band has achieved success with a multi-platinum album, and headlining their own tour, the next step for Lifehouse is making their second record.
The band has already started working on new songs, and have even debuted a few at their concerts.
They are just hoping they can match the continued success of their most recent album, ?No Name Face.?
Ayub can be reached at aayub@campustimes.org.
